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Template:Stylehowto Here are several important guidelines to follow when writing an article about a fictional topic in Misplaced Pages. It is highly reccomended that these guidelines be taken into account with every fiction article, as fictional topics are inherently not real. These guidelines will help establish them as such, keep them verifiable, and also keep the articles encyclopedic with respect to the world Misplaced Pages exists in.
Qualify it
If you add fictional information, please be sure to clearly distinguish fact and fiction. As with normal articles, try to establish context so that an unfamiliar reader can get an idea about the article's meaning without having to check several links. Instead of
- "Trillian was taken away from Earth by Zaphod when he visited a party."
write
- "Trillian is a fictional character from Douglas Adams's radio and book series The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. She was taken away from Earth in a spaceship when Zaphod Beeblebrox visited a party. Together with Zaphod, she explores the universe in the starship until the two .. Relevant excerpt: .. " and so on.
Make it encyclopedic
Try to write encyclopedia-type material, even when writing about fringe subjects. Articles about fictional topics should not be simple book-reports, rather the topic should be explained through its significance on the work. The reader should be able to feel like they understand why a character, place, or event was included in the fictional work after reading an article about one.
A good basic rule to follow is to answer the question "Why was this person/place/thing/event in the story?
Keep it verifiable
It is generally discouraged to add fictional information from sources that can not be verified or are limited to a very small number of readers, such as fan fiction and online role playing games. In the latter case, if you absolutely have to write about the subject, please be especially careful to cite your sources.
Merge small articles
Can't write that much? The subject is too limited to be given that much space? Then integrate it into a larger article.
Do not unnecessarily create small articles about largely irrelevant fictional characters, locations, objects and so on that can be better integrated into larger articles. For example, if you have to write about some fan fiction, it is better to write a larger article about this variant of a fictional universe than to create all sorts of stubs about its characters that nobody can fix.
Merge them! Make yourself a characters of X page, and go cut-and-paste crazy, leaving a solid characters article, and a trail of redirects in your wake.